The Plough flag () is a red banner with a white or yellow plough positioned in the center of it, widely used in the period of the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

as the flag of the

Chinese Peasants' Association The Chinese National Peasants' Association (), otherwise known as the Chinese Peasants' Association (), was a peasant organization created in 1927 with the specific aim of transforming the peasantry via Socialism. It was led by the Chinese Comm ...

Symbolism

The plough symbolizes the peasants' leadership in rural areas, and the red color stands for the victory of the communist revolution. When it is depicted in works of art, it is generally shown in conjunction with

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

and/or armed peasants. An example of this can be found in an illustrated pamphlet titled "'This is fine' – In memory of the 44th anniversary of the publication of '

Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan ''Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan'' or ''Inquiry into the Peasant Movement of Hunan'' of March 1927, often called the Hunan Report, is one of Mao Zedong's most famous and influential essays. The Report is based on a ...

"', published by the People's Press of Guangdong, where the illustrator uses the plough flag as a symbol of the peasant movement.

History

It is believed that

Peng Pai Peng Pai ( zh, c=彭湃, p=Péng Pài, w=P'êng2 P'ai4; October 22, 1896 – August 30, 1929) was a pioneer of the Chinese agrarian movement and a leading revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during its early years.In the Preface, ...

() was the first to use this flag in 1923, as the Chairman of the Peasants' Association of Hailufeng. During the period of

First United Front The First United Front , also known as the KMT–CCP Alliance, of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was formed in 1924 as an alliance to end Warlord Era, warlordism in China. Together they formed the National Revolution ...

, when the peasant movement in China was at its peak, the plough appeared in the flag and membership cards of the local peasant associations in several provinces. Another version of the flag, used by the left-wing of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

, combines the plough with the

Flag of the Republic of China The flag of the Republic of China, commonly called the flag of Taiwan, consists of a red field with a blue canton bearing a white disk surrounded by twelve triangles; said symbols symbolize the sun and rays of light emanating from it, res ...

. After July 15, 1927, when the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) was made illegal in

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

, the associations controlled by the CCP stopped using the "Kuomintang" version of the flag and instead began using a version with a completely red background. After the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, plough flags have been placed in several museums around the country (e.g. the museum of

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

) as well as being featured in paintings as the symbol of the peasant movement during the

Encirclement campaigns The encirclement campaigns of the Chinese Civil War were Republic of China (ROC) offensives against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) revolutionary base areas in China from the late-1920s to 1934 during the Chinese Civil War. The climax were the fiv ...

. A Caicha Opera () titled "Ode to the Plough Flag" () was composed in Yangxin,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

Gallery

File:Chinese Peasants' Association Flag.svg, Flag of the

. File:Flag of Kwangtung Peasants' Association.svg, Plough Flag used by the left wing of the

References

External links

* {{Chinese Civil War Military history of China History of the Chinese Communist Party Ploughs

Symbolism

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links